Am I getting old?

First of all, I have to give a shout out to the Gamecock Baseball boys for winning the  College World Series for the second time in a row!!!!  I'm so proud to be a Gamecock alum!

Now, on to the fun stuff.

I have been going crazy the past few days getting Emmalyn and I ready for our trip to Texas.  I'm over the moon excited!

As you can see, we have been counting down the days...

And in all the ruckus of getting ourselves ready for the trip and getting caught up in the excitement of seeing Caleb things have slipped my mind...

I opened the refrigerator earlier tonight and noticed that something didn't belong in there.  Can you see what doesn't belong?

HA!  What was I thinking when I put the headache medicine in the refrigerator?!?!?!?!?!?  I thought this kind of stuff only happened when you are pregnant or old and I know I'm not pregnant and I don't consider myself old.  

Be he way, I won't be blogging for a while due to our family vacation, so I'll be back with lots of news next week!  It has been such a great week and I can't wait to share it with you all!

Today's news

Today, two years ago, this pretty lady and her hubby, Brandon, got hitched!  Happy Anniversary!

Today, I'm happy to say that Emmalyn has officially been weaned from breast milk for over a week!

And, in four days we will be in Texas with our hero!  

And, my little Emmy is ready for the Steele family vacation at the beach!

Lots to look forward to!  We are so blessed!

3...under 2

Last week I joined my best friend for a day trip to visit her sister, Lindsey and her two sons, Owen 23 months old and Bryce, one month old.  Having a newborn, a one year old, and a two year old in one house was humbling to see how kids change and grow in one short year.  We had a great time catching up and watching Emmalyn and Owen play.  They were so sweet to each other.

With Owen being a boy and ten months older than Emmalyn, he ran circles around her.  

Lindsey had to run a few errands so KB and I were left in charge.  While these two goofed off...

we cuddled with this little fella.

Then, it was time for him to eat and mama is the only one who can take care of that, so this sweet aunt had to give him up.

 This day confirmed my thoughts of waiting until Caleb returns home to try for baby #2.  God bless mommas of two (or more)!

I confess...

I stayed up till 3am this morning organizing my closet

I gave Emmalyn peanut butter before she was a year old

I have my wardrobe planned out for each day I'll be in Texas to visit Caleb

I have always wanted a sister, but God has given me lots of great friends to take the place of a sister.

I'm already dreaming about the 2011 college football season... GO COCKS!!!

I LOVE to vacuum!  Okay, let's face it, I just love to clean in general.

I wish I had more photos of Emmy and me, but don't feel right in front of the camera anymore.

Shaving my legs is such a task.

This post is not as riveting as I thought it would be.

Mary Kay

This week Crissy and I were invited to a friend's house for a Mary Kay party.  The food was great, the company was fun and the makeup was a bonus!

We walked in to find our very own makeup vanities.

After eating and gabbing we took our makeup off.  Gotta start with a clean canvas.

Then we got pampered a bit.

Audrey Grace even joined in.

An her mama, Valerie, was helping all of us.  She is super mom!

We had a great time and can't wait to get our new Mary Kay products! 

Play Date with Miss Ellasyn

My college roommate, Liz, has a daughter that is 6 weeks older than Emmalyn.  Since moving back to SC and having a husband in the army, Liz has been great at welcoming us back and getting Emmalyn and me out of the house to hang out.  

Tonight Liz invited us over for dinner, which was so good!  The girls played and we talked and took pictures (we both love photography) and played with the girls.  

I'm so glad I caught this sweet moment of this momma and her baby.

After feeding the girls Liz let them play with some cooking bowls while we ate.

Then, the girls ventured to the living room where a Baby Einstein video was on the TV and they tried on every shoe in Ellasyn's shoe bag.  

They had a lot of fun, but by 8pm both girls were getting pretty tired so we left to go home to bed.  It was so great for Emmy to have some interaction with someone her own age, since she usually plays with Crissy, me, or the four dogs that roam our house.  

I love seeing these two play and hope they will be playing together for years!

To all the fathers in our lives...

Happy Father's Day!

I Love A Rainy Night...

With the sound of rain falling and frequent flashes of light from outside,

A good movie on in the background,

A sleeping child,

two glasses of wine,

and talking on the phone with my husband and my best friend,

I have to say...

I love a rainy night!

My latest photo shoot is posted to the photography blog.  Please take a look.

http://kaylawilkesphotography.blogspot.com/2011/06/baby-walker.html

Like I've said before, I have no idea how my child is so small because today she ate her own lunch, half of her grandpa's (my father-in-law) and a snack, all within an hour and a half.  

As she was munching on her snack, I looked over and saw Emmy like this...

Yeah, we're pretty relaxed.  

Emmalyn's One Year Update

So, I"m a little late with this post, but things have been busy (which is good).  

Emmalyn's 1 Year Stats

Weight - 16lbs 12oz (5th percentile)

Height - 27 3/4in (5th percentile)

Head - 17in (15th percentile)

Size of clothes - 6-9 month to 12 months

Eye color - very brown

Sleep - 10-12 hours a night 

Food - Almost anything!  She is such a good eater.  I was worried while we were at the doctor when I saw her weight, but the pediatrician thinks she just has a high metabolism (something she no doubt got from her daddy) and that I don't need to worry.  Granted, as I was worried about it and talking to the doctor she was shoveling goldfish in her mouth.  

Milestones -  She has four teeth and cutting more now.  She's crawling up a storm, cruising on the furniture, and walking like a champ (if you are holding at least one hand).  She says "mama", "dada", "dog", and "nana" means drink.  She is picking up a little sign language and has no trouble letting you know what she wants.  She's great at drinking with a straw and is pretty good at drinking out of a water bottles.  She is also actually growing some hair now.  It is very light in color (daddy was a blonde when he was little) but it is getting long, despite the extreme thinness.   

Favorite activities - Oh my, this child is BUSY!  She crawls all over the dogs and will "love" them (lays her head on them and smiles).  She will sit in my lap and let me read to her now.  

I got her a mermaid tent that we have just kept inside the house that Emmy loves.  She carries toys in there and plays by herself and loves when Ruger gets in it with her.  I also got her a kids christian CD that has songs from my bible school days on it.  Emmy loves when I turn it on loud when she is in the bath tub.  

She has gotten into the habit of pulling the mixing bowls out of the cabinets and playing with them.  

She also loves the pool (most days).  She is getting more bold in the water.

Emmy is a huge animal lover!  I'm sure having four dogs running around inside helps with that.  The other day I was carrying her because we were about to go downstairs and she started "talking" and pointing to the tv in my room.  I looked up and there was a dog on the screen.

And, her happiest time of day is when we get to skype with daddy.  All I have to do is open my computer and start skype and she will crawl to me as fast as she can giggling.  As soon as she sees him on the screen she squeals in excitement and wants to show him everything!  She especially loves to walk with her doll stroller and looks back at the computer to make sure he sees her.  Even though she won't remember this time in her life, I know that she won't be forgetting who Caleb is and it is so good for him to see how happy he makes her.  

Play date with Sydney Kate

Talking

A photo to show hair growth

The past few weeks have gone by so fast!  This is great since we are counting down the days before we get to see Caleb.  However, it makes life crazy!  

My friend, Sarah, came to visit for a few days last week.  Her husband is also a pilot and they are trying to become parents so there are a lot of prayers going up for them and their future child(ren).  

One night, Crissy, Sarah, and I were all on our computers skyping with our husbands.  Sarah got the brilliant idea to put our computers in front of each other so the men could talk.  Crazy enough, it worked!  We all got to talk just like we did when we all lived in Alabama.

Of course we had to document how nuts we are...

Sarah and her hubby are thinking of moving to SC after his deployment so Crissy, Sarah and I decided to make a day trip to Charleston.  We strolled around the Market, took a carriage ride, ate at Bubba Gumps, toured The Battery and ate ice cream.  The trip made me so glad to be back in SC.  

I also got to practice with my camera a lot in one of the best places in SC to photograph.

After our carriage ride Emmy wanted to see the horse the pulled us.  She was so calm and gentle with him.  She loves animals.

Then we ventured to the pier and The Battery.

After The Battery, we walked around for a while in the direction of our car. It was so peaceful and the temperature had dropped some by this point, so our stroll down the streets of Charleston was very laid back.  Crissy and Sarah were very patient with my shutter happiness.  

A couple days later we had to say "good bye" to Sarah.  I can't tell you how much fun it was to have her here and how sad we were to see her go. I'm so glad we got to spend a few days together, catch up, and act like crazy army wives together!

After we said "good bye" to Sarah we drove to see my grandmother and have Emmalyn meet another one of her great-grandmothers.  Mimi was so excited to finally meet her second great-granddaughter.

It was a busy week, but it was spent with great people!